Melges 24 Madness Regatta in Miami - Day 1
March 19, 2016 - Miami, U.S. - The MELGES24 MADNESS REGATTA- Act 3 of the MELGES24 World Winter Series got off to a good start on Friday. MELGES24 teams that traveled from Estonia, Ireland, England, Canada and throughout the US to get a taste for the venue of this November’s World Championship. Sailing outside in the ocean in the only class that could even plane in today’s wind (7-14 knots) was an added bonus.
“…Glorious day out there on the MELGES24 with tight racing from a challenging fleet”, says Clarke whose team includes Brazilian Olympics - bound 470 World Champions, Stu McNay and Dave Hughes.
McNay on the day - “We had good starts and the team worked the boat well. I would say that neither side was heavily favored. We played the shifts and found ourselves sometimes in the middle and not really hitting either side. “
After the first three races Connor Clarke’s Embarr, of Ireland with a score of 3-1-2 is tied for first with Bruce Ayres’ Monsoon’s 1-4-1. Tim Healy’s Helly Hansen, Travis Weisledder’s Lucky Dog and Tõnu Tõniste's Lenny of Tallinn, Estonia round out the top five for the day.
It was tight racing, to be sure. After each 1.5 mile 18-20 minute beat half of the boats were overlapped which made for interesting mark roundings. After a long winter in Wisconsin 2013 Rolex Yachtsman of the Year, Brian Porter’s Full Throttle had a couple brushes and chose to withdraw from race #2.
Mike Buckley, tactician of Bruce Ayres’ Monsoon of Newport Beach California,currently tied for first- “It was a good team day for the Monsoon. We battled back from two tough starts and a crash. Bruce (Ayres) had the boat going well upwind and the bow team did a nice job at the gates to help us stay in the hunt. ‘Long way to go, but we are happy to have survived Day #1.”
Melges 24 Madness Regatta in Miami - day 1 - photo Petey Crawford
After an average first race Team Lenny, of Tallinn, Estonia came back to finish the day with a 9-3-6. Olympic 470 Silver and Bronze medalists Tõnu and Toomas Tõniste are reigning Corinthian World Champions say that they were drawn to the MELGES24 by its strong similarities to the 470 with respect to dynamics and feel. Longtime crew Maiki Saaring, Kalev Kaal, Andres Rohtla also of wintery Tallinn were happy to be in shorts and barefeet in Miami.
Melges 24 Madness Regatta in Miami - day 1 - photo Petey Crawford
In the thick of the fleet is Frank Davenport, Lake Geneva Scow sailor of over six decades and part of the MELGES24 class for more than a decade. “Glad to be down here. We really like sailing the in the ocean with this group and are looking forward to the Worlds in November.”
The MELGES24 MADNESS REGATTA carries through the weekend. The final Act of the MELGES24 World Winter Series will be in Charleston in mid-April.
